Unconquerable No More: The Reasons The Indian Red-Ball Cricket Legacy Lies in Ruins

India's surprising 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the just finished Test series has sent shockwaves through the squad.

In the final match, South Africa handed India their heaviest loss in Test cricket, defying expectations. It marked the Proteas' initial series triumph in India in a quarter-century and the host nation's second defeat at home in just a year after a 12-year invincible streak.

The momentum gained during the previous half-year has largely dissipated and the prospects of a number of cricketers - as well as head mentor Gautam Gambhir - are now uncertain.

Initial Hope Disappears

The new-look squad's impressive performance in England this summer, under a different skipper, suggested a seamless changeover following the almost concurrent departures of key players R Ashwin, Sharma, and Virat Kohli.

An easy 2-0 triumph over the Windies at the beginning of the domestic season boosted that belief, before the Proteas arrived to deliver a crushing loss.

The home side were a bit unlucky that leader Shubman Gill got injured early on in the opening Test and did not participate again in the contest. However, that does not excuse or justify the squad of the terribly sub-par performance in both Tests against South Africa.

A number of star cricketers were damaged, and several players aspiring to lengthy Test careers were exposed as not up to the mark - technically or mentally - for the format.

Worrying Trend

This represented the second clean sweep on home soil suffered by the Indian team in just more than a year. Last year, little-fancied the Kiwis had pulled off a staggering 3-0 win which practically cost India a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

The latest loss to the Proteas threatens to derail India's hopes of reaching the showpiece of this edition also.

After being third in the WTC table ahead of the matches, the side have fallen to fifth place. Though nine additional matches are remaining, half of these are against Australia. Usually, playing at home would be a significant benefit - even against the strong Australian side. But the failures against New Zealand and the Proteas offer no room for such assurance.

Reasons for the Slump

The national team's weakness in Test cricket has been significantly highlighted. However, the reason India have performed so poorly in Test matches at home lately is remains puzzling.

Since the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team were seen as impregnable in red-ball cricket at home. Under sweltering weather and on surfaces that helped spin and benefited their players, India brooked no opposition. A rare failure, like in 2012-13 against England, was viewed as an anomaly.

Today, the team appear to be easy pickings at home.

Facing the Kiwis in last year and the Proteas this year, India were defeated by their own tactics. The surfaces they curated to favor their game backfired spectacularly, as the opposition used them more effectively, surpassing the Indian batters and bowlers when it mattered most.

What's Gone Wrong?

A few experts argue that the Indian team is failing at home because domestic pitches have been modified from spinning tracks to pace-friendly pitches to get cricketers ready to perform better overseas.

Others highlight that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which many overseas players play, has removed the surprise and difficulty subcontinental pitches would pose to them earlier.

While there is validity in both analyses, it does not clarify the reason the side's results on home soil have seen such a sharp fall.

Several Weaknesses

The majority of ex-cricketers diagnose a complicated issue, not only one or two factors.

Analysts and squad members have identified multiple deficiencies after the team's humiliating loss to the South Africans: not respecting the foe, inadequate readiness, flawed selections, overconfidence, regular alterations of the playing XI, and emphasizing white-ball over red-ball cricket.

This was obvious in the performances of the team.

Players like Rishabh Pant and Jaiswal, of whom high hopes were held, suffered for their lack of application, while Sudarshan, Reddy, and Jurel - who were hoping to secure their spot in the side - came up short in ability and attitude, paying a heavy price for their nonchalant approach.

Just a few - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Washington Sundar - did justice to their skill and fame - but not well enough to secure victories.

Leadership Under Fire

The post-mortem didn't spare the entire setup - selectors and backroom team were also criticized, fuelled by disappointed supporters and vocal past stars. In the spotlight of the scrutiny was head coach Gautam Gambhir.

During his post-series press